Andi Voinovich's blog

When you are stressed, do you have any little quirks, little ways that you cope with that stress or avoid it? Lately, one of mine has been organizing the bookshelves. Yes, if I have something to do that I want to avoid, or if my mind is just running 100 miles per minute, I go down to the basement and organize the bookshelves. I start by genre, separating the fiction from non-fiction, the children's book from the novels, and make a special place for poetry. From there, it's time to alphabetize.

Growing up, I loved getting the mail. Sure, one reason why was that like many children of that era, I was hopeful that a letter from Hogwarts would one day be waiting for me in the mailbox, but also, every now and then, I'd find a letter from my Great Grandma Lillian.

My first year of college, when looking for a church home, a sign posted in the college of music caught my attention. Trinity United Methodist Church, a small congregation down the street, invited college students to join their choir and receive a small stipend for singing with them each semester, no audition necessary. I'd grown up in a Methodist Church and this sounded like a great opportunity so I headed over for my first choir rehearsal.

It’s here! It’s here! The season of advent is upon us. Often advent is described as a time of waiting. We wait for the coming of Christ. Our Scripture for this week invites us instead to take a more active approach. Mark 13:24-37 charges us with being alert! Be aware!

What are the ways in which God’s presence is being made known to us in this season and behind? Are we watching? Are we listening? Are we open to the ways God is meeting us in the world?

When I was in seminary, one of the classes that was mandatory for all masters of divinity students was Christian Moral Theology. While I believe this is a crucial thing to explore and study, at times I got frustrated with the class and how sterilized the "theories" seemed, so far from the realities of actual human beings. I used to tease that watching The Good Place on Netflix (a comedy series originally aired on NBC) and discussing the show with peers should count as an alternative to the class.

Last year, I fell in love with geocaching. Have you ever been geocaching? All over the world, people have hidden tiny containers. These little containers (think film canisters, tiny boxes, and small baggies) usually contain a paper log of everyone who's found the geocache, and sometimes, special treasures. If you download the geocaching app on your phone, it helps you in your quest: providing you with coordinates and clues as you look for these elusive items.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers...

This week my heart aches. My eyes sting with tears. My chest wells with anger. I join the lament of the Psalmist:
“How long, Lord? How long?”
How long will Black lives be treated without regard?
How long will coronavirus cases and deaths rise?
How long will the waters and winds rage?
How long will fires force people to flee?
How long, Lord? How long?

What do you do when it feels like the whole world has slowed down? Some have lost their jobs, others are still working, and yet it seems to take longer to do just about everything. Many activities we typically participated in are altered or cancelled altogether in hopes of not contributing to the spread of coronavirus. So what to do?